How Much Milk to Drink a Day for Strong Bones for Adults

by Sharon Perkins

Milk doesn't do every body good.

If you're an adult, you don't need to drink any milk to keep your bones strong. While you do need calcium, vitamin D and other minerals to help maintain bone density and prevent osteoporosis, you can meet these needs with other foods or dietary supplements. If you like milk, however, several glasses a day can meet your needs.

Meeting Calcium Needs with Milk

About 99 percent of your body's calcium resides in your bones and teeth. Calcium gives bones density and strength. Milk serves as an excellent source of calcium, with around 300 milligrams per 8-ounce glass. To meet dietary calcium requirements, women need 1,000 milligrams per day between ages 19 and 50 and 1,200 milligrams after age 51, according to the federal Office of Dietary Supplements. Drinking three to four glasses of milk would meet your calcium needs. For men, 1,000 milligrams between age 19 and 70 and 1,200 milligrams thereafter provides the calcium needed.

Getting Enough Vitamin D in Milk

While calcium makes your bones strong, it takes an adequate amount of vitamin D for your body to absorb it. If you don't get enough vitamin D, you can eat large amounts of calcium and still lose bone density. Most commercially-produced milk in the United States is fortified with vitamin D, to ensure that you will absorb the calcium you get from milk. An 8-ounce serving of milk supplies around 30 percent of your daily vitamin D needs, or between 115 and 124 milligrams of vitamin D. Three glasses of milk per day would meet your vitamin D needs.

Alternative Food Choices

If you don't like milk or can't drink it due to lactose intolerance or allergy, you can choose from a variety of foods -- dairy and nondairy -- to help meet your nutritional needs and keep your bones strong. Yogurt contains more calcium per serving than milk but typically isn't fortified with vitamin D. Different types of cheese, such as cheddar and mozzarella, also equal milk in calcium content. Fish, including salmon or sardines canned with bones, can help meet both your calcium and vitamin D needs without milk. If you follow a vegan diet and don't consume dairy, tofu, fortified cereals and vegetables such as kale, turnip greens and bok choy can help you meet you calcium needs. Fortified cereals often contain both calcium and vitamin D.

Milk Risks

In some cases, drinking too much milk might be harmful. A Harvard School of Public Health study, reported in the October 2001 issue of "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," examined evidence suggesting that men who consumed more than 2.5 servings of dairy products per day had an increased risk of developing prostate cancer compared to men who consumed less than a half-serving of dairy per day. Men with the higher intake had a 32 percent higher risk of developing prostate cancer. A meta-analysis of available studies conducted by Tufts University and published in the December 2005 issue of the "Journal of the National Cancer Institute" reported similar findings, although the risk reported was small. Talk to your doctor about calcium intake if you're a male at risk for prostate cancer or if you've had prostate cancer.

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About the Author

A registered nurse with more than 25 years of experience in oncology, labor/delivery, neonatal intensive care, infertility and ophthalmology, Sharon Perkins has also coauthored and edited numerous health books for the Wiley "Dummies" series. Perkins also has extensive experience working in home health with medically fragile pediatric patients.

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